Trade

Abstract

This chapter recounts international leaders that emphasized trade as a way to build prosperity and promote peaceful relations during post–World War II. It mentions that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade has established the framework for trading goods since 1947. It also details how international trade brings greater variety of markets, lower prices, and opportunities for both importing and exporting countries, and global relationships between producers and consumers. The chapter refers to international trade agreements that were not primarily concerned with protecting the environment or broadly sharing wealth generated from trade. It explains how the unsustainable use of the climate, fresh water, forests, and farmland escalated in parallel to trading that soared after the formation of the World Trade Organization.